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PART II.
The history of Tennessee from its admission into the Union, 1796, to the present time. This part is also treated in three divisions:
(1) Tennessee under the Constitution of 1796 ..
(2) Tennessee under the Constitution of 1834.
(3) Tennessee under the Constitution of 1870.
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PART I.
THE HISTORY OF TENNESSEE FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE DATE OF ITS ADMISSION AS A STATE, JUNE I, 1796.
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DIVISION I.
ABORIGINAL HISTORY.
CHAPTER I.
THE INDIANS.
1. Indian Races .- Four races of Indians, distinct from each other in characteristics and appearance, lived east of the Mississippi River when Columbus discovered America, viz .: the Esquimaux, the Algon- quins, the Iroquois, and the Mobilians. The Esquimaux dwelt in Labrador and the extreme northern part of America. They have no connection with Tennessee history. The Algonquins occupied the entire country from the Carolina line north to the country of the Es- quimaux, except a small territory around the great lakes. The Iro- quois, or Five Nations, occupied a small area around Lakes Ontario and Erie and touched Lake Huron. The entire territory from the northern boundary of Carolina southward, except portions of Middle Tennessee and North Alabama, was occupied by the Mobilians. These races were subdivided into various tribes. These should be studied and located on the map. 1
2. The Mobilian Race .- Although the history of Tennessee has been influenced by the Iroquois race, and by the Shawnee tribe of the Algonquin race, and by other Indians, yet the most important Indian relations of the pioneers were with the tribes of the Mobilian2 race, or the Appalachian race, as they are sometimes called. The principal tribes of this race were : the Cherokees, the Chickasaws, the Creeks, the Choctaws, and the Seminoles. The Chickamaugas are gener- ally classed as a branch of the Cherokees, but are sometimes treated
1 Much has been written on this subject, little positive is known, and accounts are vague and contradictory. Still it is an interesting subject of investigation. See Johnson's Cyclopedia, American Indians ; Reports of U. S. Bureau of Eth- nology ; Schoolcraft; any good cyclopedia, etc.
? See Roosevelt's "Winning of the West," Vol. I., Chapters 3 and 4.
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HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.
as an independent tribe. There were many other Mobilian tribes, but they had little connection with Tennessee history. 1
THE NATCHEZ.
3. Were They Aborigines ?-- Before studying the history of the Mobilian tribes, with which the early history of Tennessee is inti- mately connected, let us briefly examine into what is known of the Natchez. We find that very little is known. It is conjectured by ethnologists that the Natchez, if not the aborigines of Tennessee, were the first inhabitants of whom we have any trace. All knowl- edge of their early history rests upon vague Indian legends, infer- ences drawn from accounts of the expedition of DeSoto in 1540, and of other explorers, together with such interpretations as may be placed upon various mounds and relics which have been discovered.
4. Theories about the Natchez .- Various theories have been ad- vanced by speculative writers. The most plausible of these theories is, that America was peopled by immigrants from Asia and Europe, arriving at various times in the remote past. One wave of Indian migration starting from the Southern Pacific coast moved northeast, another wave starting from the neighborhood of Behring Strait moved southward, and possibly other waves starting from the Middle Pacific coast moved east. It is supposed that these waves of Indian migration met somewhere along the banks of the Mississippi or the Ohio rivers, where a fierce conflict ensued. According to this theory, the Natchez were the advance guard of the Southern Indians. They crossed the Mississippi and occupied the country from the Iberville River in Lou- isiana up to the Wabash River in Indiana, and extended eastward to the Alleghany Mountains. There is no evidence to show how long they occupied this territory. They were invaded by "the red In- dians of the North," and after a fierce conflict were driven south- ward, a small remnant of the race retaining a foot-hold along the eastern bank of the Mississippi, and are now nearly extinct.
5. The Mound Builders .?- In many portions of the State mounds
1 In the limits of North Carolina, of which Tennessee was a part, there were many Indian tribes, viz .: the Catawbas, the Tuscaroras, the Meherrins, the Ma- chapungoes, the Pasquotunks, the Tuteloes, the Mohenens, Caronines, the Sap- ponies, the Toleras, the Keyawies, the Curratukes, the Pamlicoes, the Mattamus- keets, the Chowanches, the Marattas, the Mangoes, the Corees, the Weapomeas, the Chesopians, and others. See Ramsey's Annals, pp. 73-87; Moore's School History of North Carolina, pp. 13-16; Monette, Adair, etc.
"Thruston's Antiquities of Tennessee, Chapters I and 2, and authorities there- . in quoted ; American Historical Magazine, Vol. I., pp. 253-257 (July No. 1896).
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THE INDIANS.
of curious shape, and other remains have been discovered which bear the evidence of great age, and of civilization beyond that of the Mo- bilian tribes who occupied the country at the advent of the white set- tlers. Some of these mounds, especially those in the shape of a cone, are thought to be structures for observation or residence; other mounds were un- doubtedly places for the burial of the dead. The su- perstition of the Indians led them to deposit in the grave of the dead warrior many of Ridge his personal effects. These relics con- TENNESSEE RIVER' sisted of pipes, weapons, domestic utensils, ornaments EARTH WORKS AT SAVANNAH. I and other articles.
These relics not only show a greater degree of skill than the Mobil- ian or Algonquin tribes possessed, but also evince characteristics dif- ferent from those of the Mobilians, or Algonquins. These last named races were, indeed, superstitious, but their religion was a spiritual re- ligion, and was a part of their daily lives. Different from other sav-
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INDIAN STONE IMAGES. I
1 From Thruston's Antiquities.
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HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.
ages, they did not worship idols, nor build temples, and they erected no human monument as an emblem of their faith.1 On the other hand, the moundbuilders erected mounds and graves of permanent structure, containing relics which, taken in connection with vague legends, indicate a somewhat superior race, which used emblems of religion and had acquired a certain degree of skill in mechanism. Such evidences incline recent ethnologists to believe that the Natchez were a branch of the mound-building race.
THE IROQUOIS. OR FIVE NATIONS. 2
6. A Model of Government .- The Iroquois race lived around the Great Lakes, and its tribes were united in a confederation, known as the Five Nations. This confederation consisted of the Mohawks, the Senecas. the Cayugas, the Onondagas. and the Oneidas. At a later period the Tuscaroras were admitted, and the confederation became known as the Six Nations. They were the best governed and the most powerful of all the Indian peoples. Their government was the first confederated republic in the world, and is similar to that of the United States. They were especially proud of their form of govern- ment, often recommending it to the British colonies. Schoolcraft re- lates that Connossatego, an Iroquois Sachem, at the Lancaster Con- ference in 1774, explained the Iroquois system to the commissioners of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland, and advised them to adopt a similar form.
7. The Hunting Grounds .- The Iroquois claimed that their an- cestors had conquered a large portion of Kentucky and Tennessee. Possibly their ancestors were the "red Indians of the North" who had expelled the Natchez. 3 By virtue of this claim, they held pos- session of all the country between the Ohio and Tennessee rivers and Appalachian Mountains, forming an area, somewhat circular or ellip- tical in shape, and including Middle Tennessee, with portions of North Alabama and Kentucky. This magnificent country they constituted
1 Some recent investigations indicate that mounds were built by some of the Mobilian races, even within historic times. This, however, is not a general char- acteristic of the race.
2 Haywood. p. S8; Ramsey, pp. 73-77; Schoolcraft, Vol. III., pp. 183 et seq., Vol. V., pp. 631-646.
3 All accounts of the title on which the claim of the Iroquois rested are vague. It is certain that they made an indefinite claim, which they conveyed in the treaty at Fort Stanwix.
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THE INDIANS.
their national park, or Hunting Grounds. They forbade, under pain of their mortal enmity, any residence or encroachments upon this territory, and appointed the Cher- Entrance okees on the east, and the Chick- Fali dwr.) asaws on the west as guardians of their. park. It was one of the Dam Fork most fertile and best watered tracts in America, and abounded in fish and game of every kind. No country could be better suited to delight the heart of the savage. Dutch Soft Otp No: The Indians considered it too Bark good to be spoiled by settle- ments, and thus the white immi- OLD STONE FORT NEAR MANCHESTER.I grants found this beautiful coun- try uninhabited and awaiting the pioneer.
CHAPTER II.
THE INDIANS-(Continued).
THE SHAWNEES.
8. Their Vicissitudes .- All pupils should learn the romantic story of these "Gypsies of the Forest," and all Tennessee pupils especially should study the pathetic history of that branch of the tribe which lived for a short time in Tennessee. ? The Shawnees were a tribe or nation of the Algonquin race. They were at one time pow- erful and prosperous. Their roving disposition led them to separate into many branches, which resided temporarily in localities far apart from each other. Different portions of this tribe, at different times, resided in nearly every part of the United States except in the ex- treme Northeast and the extreme Southwest. One branch resided, for a short time, in Middle Tennessee. The history of the tribe is little
1 From Thruston's Antiquities.
" Drake's History of Tecumseh ; Eggleston's History of Tecumseh ; any good cyclopedia ; Reports of U. S. Bureau of Ethnology; Ramsey; Thruston's An- tiquities; Imlay's America, pp. 290-294, 362, et seq. Imlay wrote in 1797, and gives much interesting information about the Indians, the several items being scattered through the 598 pages of his book. They can be gathered by referring to the Index.
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HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.
more than an enumeration of adventures and disasters. Brave, ener- getic, and aggressive, they were nearly always unfortunate, but always undismayed. Though unlucky in many respects, they were pecul- iarly unlucky in the spelling of their name.
9. Their Many Names .- The Indians had no system of spelling or writing, and no fixed standard of pronunciation. Thus, the pro- nunciation of their tribal names differed widely even among them- selves. The different European nations with whom they came in con- tact pronounced and spelled the names in accordance with their sev- eral ideas of sound and spelling. The stationary tribes, who were thrown with only one nation, or with only one colony of that nation, were designated by names to which a uniform pronunciation and a fixed spelling became attached. With the roving or widely scattered tribes the case was different. As the several divisions of the tribe at- tracted the attention of different colonies of the same European nation, their names were spelled impromptu by people far apart from each other, and who were often not expert in spelling. The confusion was increased when the divisions of the tribe were so far apart as to encounter the explorers or settlers of the different European nations. English, French, and Spanish caught the sound differently and spelled it differently. The Shawnees, being the most restless, roving, and widely scattered tribe of all the Indians, suffered more than all others in this respect. Their name has been written: Shawnees, Shawanese, Shawaneu, Shawenu, Shawanoes, Sewanees, Suwanees, Sawanos, Suwannoes, Savanoes, Savannahs,1 Satanas, Santanas, Shauvanon, Chauvanon, Chouanon, Chowan, Showan, Cheavanoes, besides other variations of the same stem-word. In addition to this, divisions of the tribe have been designated by names which bear no apparent etymological relation to the tribal name; viz .: Yemasses, Massawomies, etc.
10. One of Their Peculiarities .- They had a fondness for giving their name to rivers, mountains, and localities. Perhaps, more names of the natural features of the country and of localities, remain as me- mentoes of this tribe than of any other Indians. It may interest the pupil to take a map of the United States, a good gazetteer, and an official post-office guide, and from these, in connection with the various Shawnee names enumerated above, to make a list of all the places in the United States to which the Shawnees have given one or another
1 Report U. S. Bureau of Ethnology, 1890-91, pp. 693, et seq .; Ibid., 575-586; Drake's History of Tecumseh.
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THE INDIANS.
of their various names. The pupil will not, of course, fail to note Sewanee Mountain, Sewanee town, and Shawnee or Chauvanon River (now Cumberland), in Tennessee.
11. The Tennessee Branch .- Historians have been unable to as- sign the date when the Shawnees settled in Tennessee, and differ in their accounts of the place from which they came, the causes of their removal, the duration of their residence, and the circumstances con- nected with their final expulsion. From the best available evidence, it would seem that they came to Tennessee after the advent of the Cherokees, and previous to 1681. They settled in the uninhabited Hunting Grounds of the Iroquois, along the banks of the Shawnee (now Cumberland) River, and probably occupied Sewanee Mountain and other stations. They were expelled by the Cherokees and Chick- asaws in conjunction with the Iroquois, and left the Hunting Grounds again uninhabited. The expulsion occurred, perhaps, about the year 1714. Among the many legends connected with this branch, the fol- lowing seems plausible :
12. A Legend of the Shawnees.1-The principal portion of this tribe dwelt south of the famous Iroquois, or Five Nations. They did not prove to be congenial neighbors. After many quarrels and conflicts, the Iroquois moved against them in force, and defeated them in a terrible battle. The Shawnees abandoned their homes, and retreated southward in search of a new place of residence. Upon arriving at Cumberland Gap, they haited for rest and consul- tation. At the council which was held, one party favored enter- ing into the uninhabited National Park, or Hunting Grounds of their old enemies, the Iroquois, through the gateway of Cumberland Gap, which stood invitingly open. The other party, fearing the vengeance of their dreaded foes, insisted upon seeking a safer asylum further south.
The tribe finally decided to separate. One portion continued south to Georgia and Florida, occupying the country between the two rivers to which they gave their names, the Suwanee2 and the
1This is a floating legend which rests upon no reliable evidence. It is not ac- cepted by the authorities. If true, it would account for some facts for which the authorities give no satisfactory explanation.
2 Mr. S. G. Boyd, in his excellent work on Local Indian Names, gives the name of Suwanee River in Florida as derived from the Creek word sawani, which means echo; and Suwanee River means "Echo River." This seems far-fetched. The Shawnees or Suwanees dwelt along the banks of this river, and indulged their
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HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.
Savannah.1 The former name has become famous in the beautiful negro melody, "Way down upon de Swanee Ribber." The other portion determined to brave the anger of the Iroquois, and immediately took possession of the Hunting Grounds. The Cher- okees and Chickasaws, as guardians of the Park, served on them notice to quit. Upon the refusal of the Shawnees, war was declared. In many bloody engagements, the Shawnees made good their de- fense, and repulsed their assailants. The Iroquois were at this time engaged in a war nearer home.
13. The Expulsion.2-Finally, a combined at- tack was made upon the intruders by the Chero- kees and Chickasaws, aided by the Iroquois. The Shawnees were routed, and this portion of the tribe nearly annihilated. Some writers state that the sur- vivors were intercepted in their flight by the Iro- quois, captured and divided among their several na- tions as slaves. Other historians state that the sur- vivors joined some of their comrades who had set- tled in Kentucky, and together with them removed to Indiana, where they united with another portion of the tribe who lived along the banks of the Wabash. The expulsion of the Shawnees closed their connec- tion with Tennessee history, and left the Hunting Grounds again uninhabited.
INDIAN ARROW HEAD.
. 14. The Uchees .- The Uchees were a tribe of Indians who at one time lived in Tennessee, but who, like the Natchez and Shawnees, were not within the limits of the State at the date of the arrival of the English settlers. Very little is known of the Uchees. They once lived in East Tennessee, were defeated by the Cherokees, and
propensity to give their own name to the stream. Some experts in Indian names adhere to the theory, that Suwanee is a corruption of the Spanish name, San Juan.
1 Mr. Boyd also thinks that the name Savannah was derived from the Spanish word, sabana, meaning a meadow, prairie, or plain. It is much more probable that the name was derived from the name Satanas or Savannoes, by which that branch of the Shawnees were known, who dwelt along the banks of the river. See Annual Report, Bureau of Ethnology, IS90-91, pp. 693, et seq.
2 Whatever vagueness may attach to the manner and date of their arrival, the length of their residence, and the circumstances of their expulsion, it is his- torically certain that they were expelled.
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THE INDIANS.
subsequently disappeared. They exercised no influence in the history of Tennessee.
15. The Choctaws .- This Mobilian tribe lived south of Tennes- see, and exercised but little influence in the affairs of the pioneers. The name of the tribe, however, is sometimes mentioned in connec- tion with the pioneer history.
16. The Seminoles .- This Mobilian tribe lived in Florida. It had no connection with the pioneer history of Tennessee, but had an important connection with the history of the State at a later period.
17. The Creeks .- This tribe belonged to the Mobilian race, and lived south of Tennessee. Roving bands belonging to this tribe tem- porarily dwelt along the borders, and frequently invaded the Cum- berland settlements. Under their famous chief, McGillivray, they were formidable enemies to the pioneers of the Cumberland. When we enter on the colonial history, frequent mention will be made of the Creek, or Muskogee warriors.
18. The Cherokees .- The Indians of this tribe were the formid- able foes of the Watauga settlers. They were fierce, vindictive, and warriors by nature. They resented the intrusion of the white pioneers, and contested their encroachments in many sanguinary conflicts, run- ning through the entire colonial his- tory of Tennessee, until their power was finally broken by the great " In- . . dian fighter," John Sevier. It is ₹ . . 4 M A . generally supposed that the Chero- · . + 3 kees removed from the neighborhood . . of the Yadkin and Catawba rivers to East Tennessee about 1623, although . 4 the date can not be positively stated. The main body lived in Tennessee along the mountains of the eastern border. A portion of the tribe, called SEQUO-YAH, AUTHOR OF CHEROKEE ALPHABET. the Chickamaugas, lived along the southern border, partly in Tennessee and partly in Georgia, their principal station being near Chattanooga.
The Cherokees will be often mentioned in connection with colonial history.
19. The Chickasaws .- The Cherokees and Chickasaws were the two tribes resident in Tennessee at the advent of the white settlers.
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HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.
These two tribes and the Creeks, who were non-residents of Tennes- see, were the Indians with whom the pioneers had to deal. There is no positive information as to the time when the Chickasaws settled in Tennessee, or where they came from. It is supposed that they came from the West.1 They claimed all of West Tennessee between the Mississippi and Tennessee rivers, north to the Ohio River, and portions of Mississippi, south to the country of the Choctaws. They were peaceful in disposition, but were gallant warriors, and were uniformly victorious over such Indian enemies as ventured to attack them. They were consistent and useful friends and allies to the Cumberland settlers. We shall have frequent occasion to mention them when we come to the colonial history.
20. The Removal .- Finally, the Cherokees, Chickasaws, and Creeks ceded all their lands to the whites, and, together with all the Southern tribes, were removed to the Indian Territory across the Mississippi River, where they have made remarkable progress in civ- ilization, and have become the richest nations of the world in pro- portion to population. 2
1 Schoolcraft, Vol. I., pp. 309, et seq.
2 In addition to the general references heretofore given, the student may refer to Haywood's Aboriginal History of Tennessee. This book, however, is so rare as to be practically inaccessible. Haywood's Civil and Political History has been reprinted by the Methodist Publishing House, and may be easily obtained. All the page references to Haywood refer to the reprint. The great thesauros of Indian history is the extensive work of Schoolcraft. The latest theories and most accurate information are found in the Reports of the United States Bureau of Eth- nology. Much information may be found in the cyclopedias, under the appro- priate heads. Ramsey, Putnam and Thruston furnish valuable information. See American Historical Magazine, Vol. 2, pp. 103-112 (April Number, 1897); Ibid., pp. 139-146; Ibid., Vol. 4, p. 304 (October Number, 1899).
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TOPICAL ANALYSIS.
TOPICAL ANALYSIS OF DIVISION I.
THE INDIANS.
I. THE RACES EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER .- The Esquimaux; the Algonquins ; the Iroquois ; and the Mobilians, or the Appalachians.
2. THE MOBILIAN RACE. - Their principal tribes. Influence on settlement of Tennessee.
3. THE NATCHEZ .- Their history legendary. Theories. Occupied parts of Tennessee. Expelled by Red Indians of the North.
4. THE MOUND BUILDERS .- Their relics show skill. Various theories with reference to them.
5. THE IROQUOIS .- Lived near the Great Lakes. Their government. Their hunting grounds.
6." THE SHAWNEES .- Their vicissitudes. Their many names. Their fond- ness for giving their names to natural features. Take possession of the Hunting Grounds. The Shawnee legend. The expulsion.
7. THE UCHEES .- Little known of them. Left Tennessee before the advent of the pioneer.
8. THE CHOCTAWS .- Lived south of Tennessee. Had little influence on early settlements.
9. THE SEMINOLES .- Lived south of Tennessee. Had no connection with its history until a later period.
IO. THE CREEKS .- Lived south of Tennessee. Were inveterate and formid- able enemies of the pioneers.
II. THE CHICKASAWS .- Occupied western part of Tennessee. Were peaceful and brave. Became warm friends of the pioneers.
12. THE CHEROKEES .- Lived in eastern part of Tennessee, part of the tribe extending south. The Chickamaugas. Hostility to the pioneers.
13. The removal of the Southern Indians.
DIVISION II.
THE COLONIAL RELATIONS OF TENNESSEE FROM 1584 TO 1763.
CHAPTER III.
THE EUROPEAN CONTEST FOR POSSESSION OF AMERICA.
21. Importance of Contemporaneous History .- The thoughtless student is apt to suppose that the events which have taken place within the limits of the State supply all the information that is neces- sary to understand its history; that because the Atlantic Ocean rolls between us and Europe we have, therefore, no connection with Euro- pean affairs. There could be no greater mistake. Humanity affects humanity wherever humanity exists, as the heavenly bodies reach each other through space and control each others' movements. The settlement and early history of Tennessee were dependent upon the condition of affairs in Europe, and no student of history can under- stand our pioneer era without studying the contemporaneous history of the period.
22. Spanish Claims .- Spain was the first claimant of the soil of Tennessee. In the fifteenth century Spain had grown to be the greatest power in Europe, by land and sea. In 1492, having com- pleted the conquest of the Moors, Ferdinand and Isabella yielded to the solicitations of the Genoese navigator, and gave their sanction to the expedition which resulted in the discovery of America. Colum- bus landed at San Salvador, and claimed all the new and unexplored western world in the name of the Spanish sovereigns. Anxious to preclude all rivals, Spain procured an edict from the Pope, granting all the new world to Spain, as the discoverer. The authority of the Pope, supported by the power of Spain, was esteemed sufficient guarantee of the title, and seemed to mark America for Spanish settlement. But Providence willed it otherwise.
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